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The impress of carriages and cars

The silver carriage made by Pestonjee Press for the Maharaja of Bhavnagar is a star attraction of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s exhibition touring North America over two years
Hilla P. Guzder

For Pestonjee Press, making carriages and car bodies was a craft infused with grace and grandeur. In 1915, the heyday of imperial India, Press was commissioned by the Maharaja of Bhavnagar to build for him a carriage that would be both distinguished and distinguishing. Combining the elegance of European design with the artistry of the Indian karigar (artisan), Press created at his Fort Coach Factory a silver landau, elegantly embellished with flowers, enameled birds, swans, greyhounds and lions, crafted in relief and highlighted in gold, at a time when enameling such as this was unknown in locally built carriages. "Pestonjee was......



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